Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and storage medium

ABSTRACT

The present invention is directed to making it possible to reduce a possibility of image stitching failures. An information processing apparatus includes a feature extraction unit configured to extract feature points from each of a plurality of images of an object to be inspected captured from a plurality of viewpoints, an image quality evaluation unit configured to, for each of the plurality of images, evaluate whether an image quality based on a predetermined index satisfies allowable conditions for inspection works of the object, and an image stitching unit configured to stitch at least a part of the images, among the plurality of images, having the image quality that satisfies the allowable conditions according to a positional relation based on the feature points.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a technique for processing a pluralityof pieces of image information acquired through image capturing.

Description of the Related Art

Continuous maintenance is essential for infrastructure/structures suchas roads, bridges, buildings, towers, walls, dams, tunnels, and so on.In continuous maintenance for infrastructures, it is important toidentify, record, and observe cracks and other defective portions.

Examples of inspection methods for infrastructures employed in manycases include a method for capturing images of an infrastructure,identifying cracks and other defects based on the captured images, andevaluating the identified defects. However, if the resolution per unitarea on the surface of the infrastructure under inspection is low in thecaptured image, a difficulty arises in recognizing defects, for example,because of a blurred crack pattern. Therefore, it is demanded that theresolution of a captured image per unit area is equal to or higher thana predetermined value on the surface under inspection. For example, ifan infrastructure has a large scale or complicated shape, it isdifficult to capture an image of the infrastructure at one time with apredetermined resolution or higher. In such a case, the infrastructureis imaged in split imaging, and defects are identified and evaluated byusing the images captured in split imaging.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-90981discusses a technique for estimating the resolutions in the images basedon the distance to an object and comparing the average value of theestimated resolutions with a predetermined resolution threshold value todetermine whether image acquisition is possible. More specifically, whenthe average value of the estimated resolutions exceeds the resolutionthreshold value, the image acquisition is acknowledged and images arestored. On the other hand, when the average value is below theresolution threshold value, the image acquisition is rejected.

The technique discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.2018-90981 determines whether image acquisition is possible based on theestimated image resolution. However, if whether image acquisition ispossible is determined based only on the resolution, the number ofimages available for the defect evaluation of an object such as aninfrastructure may become insufficient, possibly disabling therecognition of defects of the object.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an aspect of the present invention, an informationprocessing apparatus includes a feature extraction unit configured toextract feature points from each of a plurality of images of an objectto be inspected captured from a plurality of viewpoints, an imagequality evaluation unit configured to, for each of the plurality ofimages, evaluate whether an image quality based on a predetermined indexsatisfies allowable conditions for inspection works of the object, andan image stitching unit configured to stitch at least a part of theimages, among the plurality of images, having the image quality thatsatisfies the allowable conditions according to a positional relationbased on the feature points extracted by the extraction unit.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments with reference to theattached drawings. Each of the embodiments of the present inventiondescribed below can be implemented solely or as a combination of aplurality of the embodiments or features thereof where necessary orwhere the combination of elements or features from individualembodiments in a single embodiment is beneficial.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an overall configuration of aninformation processing apparatus according to a first exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates a functional configuration of the informationprocessing apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates a table held in a threshold value holding unit.

FIG. 4 illustrates a movement result of an image stitching unit.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating processing of the informationprocessing apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating processing for evaluating imagesavailable for inspection.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating image quality evaluation processingaccording to the first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating post-processing according to thefirst exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 9 illustrates an angle between a surface of an object and lightincident to a camera.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating image quality evaluation processingaccording to a second exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 11 illustrates a functional configuration of an informationprocessing apparatus according to a third exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 12 illustrates display contents on a display unit according to thethird exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating post-processing according to thethird exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 14 illustrates a functional configuration of an informationprocessing apparatus according to a fourth exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 15 illustrates a table held in an estimation error holding unit.

FIG. 16 illustrates display contents on a display unit according to thefourth exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating post-processing according to thefourth exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 18 illustrates a defocus amount according to a modification of thefirst exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 19 illustrates a table held in a threshold value holding unitaccording to the modification of the first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 20 illustrates a movement result of an image stitching unitaccording to the modification of the first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating image quality evaluation processingaccording to the modification of the first exemplary embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will be described in detail below based onexemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.Configurations described in the following exemplary embodiments are tobe considered as illustrative, and the present invention is not limitedto illustrated configurations.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of an information processing apparatus 100 according to afirst exemplary embodiment. The information processing apparatus 100includes a central processing unit (CPU) 101, a random access memory(RAM) 102. a read only memory (ROM) 103, an auxiliary storage device104, an input/output interface 105, a communication interface 106, adisplay apparatus 107, a bus 108, an input controller 109, and an inputapparatus 110.

The CPU 101 executes and controls each function of the informationprocessing apparatus 100. The RAM 102 temporarily stores programs anddata supplied from an external apparatus. The ROM 103 stores programsand various kinds of parameters without the need of change. The displayapparatus 107 displays graphics drawn by the CPU 101. The auxiliarystorage device 104 stores various kinds of information. The input/outputinterface 105 transmits and receives data to/from an external apparatus.The communication interface 106 for connection to a network transmitsand receives data to/from an external apparatus via the network. The bus108 as a system bus connects the CPU 101, the RAM 102, the ROM 103, theauxiliary storage device 104, the input/output interface 105, thecommunication interface 106, the display apparatus 107, and the inputcontroller 109. The input controller 109 controls input signals from theinput apparatus 110 (described below). The input apparatus 110 is anexternal input apparatus for receiving operation instructions from auser, such as a keyboard and a mouse. Functions and the processing ofthe information processing apparatus 100 (described below) areimplemented when the CPU 101 loads a program stored in the ROM 103 andexecutes the program.

Exemplary embodiments will be described below centering on a case whereimages of an infrastructure as an object under inspection are captured,and cracks and other defects are identified and evaluated based on thecaptured images. According to the present exemplary embodiment, if aninfrastructure has a large scale or a complicated shape, defects areidentified and evaluated by using an image obtained by stitching imagesof the infrastructure captured through split imaging. When evaluatingdefects by using captured images, as described above, it is necessary toacquire images having a resolution per unit area on the surface underinspection equal to or larger than a predetermined value. When stitchingimages captured through split imaging, the images are mutuallypositioned based on feature points in the images before image stitching.However, if whether image acquisition is possible is determined by usingonly the image resolution, like the technique discussed in JapanesePatent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-90981, images may be stored withinsufficient feature points. In this case, positioning based on featurepoints cannot be performed, possibly resulting in image stitchingfailure.

Therefore, according to the first exemplary embodiment, feature pointsare extracted from input images captured through split imaging and thenevaluated, and the image quality on an object on the input images isevaluated. Then, based on these evaluation results, images available forinspection of the object are evaluated. Then, according to the firstexemplary embodiment, a three-dimensional shape of an infrastructure isestimated and, for the estimated three-dimensional shape, input imagesare mapped (projected) based on the image evaluation results to generatea stitched image.

FIG. 2 is a function block diagram illustrating a functionalconfiguration of the information processing apparatus 100 according tothe first exemplary embodiment. The functional configuration of theinformation processing apparatus 100 according to the first exemplaryembodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. 2.

An image input unit 201 acquires images of an object captured by using acamera. An object refers to a target to be inspected by using thecaptured images. Examples of objects include infrastructure/structuressuch as concrete surfaces of bridges, dams, and tunnels. However,objects are not limited thereto, and may be concrete, or any othermaterial (e.g. brick), wall surfaces of a variety of structures. Eachimage acquired by the image input unit 201 includes internal parametersof the camera, i.e., the image resolution, the focal length of thecamera, the size of the image sensor, the position of the image center,and information about lens distortion.

A feature extraction unit 202 extracts feature points from input imagesacquired by the image input unit 201, performs feature point matchingbetween the images, and outputs information about feature points andinformation about feature point matching to a position and orientationestimation unit 203 and a feature evaluation unit 205. The featureextraction unit 202 will be described in detail below.

The feature evaluation unit 205 evaluates the feature points extractedby the feature extraction unit 202 for each image. The featureevaluation unit 205 will be described in detail below.

The position and orientation estimation unit 203 estimates the positionand orientation of the camera which has captured images, based on theinformation about feature points extracted by the feature extractionunit 202 and the information about feature point matching. Techniquesfor estimating the camera position and orientation by using imagefeature points and matching information are generally known, andtherefore descriptions thereof will be omitted.

A shape estimation unit 204 estimates the three-dimensional shape of theobject under inspection based on the camera position and orientationestimated by the position and orientation estimation unit 203 and theimages acquired by the image input unit 201. The shape estimation unit204 will be described in detail below.

An image quality evaluation unit 206 evaluates the image quality on theobject under inspection based the input images acquired by the imageinput unit 201, the three-dimensional shape of the object calculated bythe shape estimation unit 204. and the camera position and orientationestimated by the position and orientation estimation unit 203. The imagequality evaluation unit 206 will be described in detail below.

A threshold value holding unit 207 holds threshold values for the resultof evaluation by the feature evaluation unit 205 and the result ofevaluation by the image quality evaluation unit 206. The thresholdvalues define allowable conditions for determining whether the qualityof images is permissible as images to be used for inspection of theinfrastructure. According to the first exemplary embodiment, allowableconditions are defined by using the resolution as an index. Thethreshold value holding unit 207 will be described in detail below.

An image evaluation unit 208 identifies regions available for inspectionin the images acquired by the image input unit 201 based on the resultof evaluation by the feature evaluation unit 205, the result ofevaluation by the image quality evaluation unit 206, and the thresholdvalues held by the threshold value holding unit 207. Then, the imageevaluation unit 208 outputs information about the regions available forinspection to an image stitching unit 209. The image evaluation unit 208will be described in detail below.

The image stitching unit 209 stitches a plurality of images based on theimages input from the image input unit 201, the camera position andorientation from the position and orientation estimation unit 203, thethree-dimensional shape from the shape estimation unit 204, and theinformation about the regions available for inspection from the imageevaluation unit 208. The image stitching unit 209 will be described indetail below.

The feature extraction unit 202, the shape estimation unit 204, thefeature evaluation unit 205, the image quality evaluation unit 206, thethreshold value holding unit 207, the image evaluation unit 208, and theimage stitching unit 209 will be described in detail below.

The feature extraction unit 202 extracts, for example, Scale-InvariantFeature Transform (SIFT) feature points from the input images acquiredby the image input unit 201. SIFT feature points are generally knownfeature points, and descriptions thereof will be omitted. Feature pointsused in the present exemplary embodiment are feature points forperforming local region matching between object images captured fromdifferent image capturing directions and at different image capturingangles. According to the present exemplary embodiment, SIFT featurepoints are used because of the robustness to the rotation, enlargement,and reduction of an object. According to the present exemplaryembodiment, feature points extracted by the feature extraction unit 202may be feature points other than SIFT feature points as long as localregion matching between images can be performed.

Firstly, the shape estimation unit 204 estimates a three-dimensionalpoint group based on the camera position and orientation and the imagesassociated with the camera position and orientation, by using themulti-baseline stereo method. The multi-baseline method performed by theshape estimation unit 204 makes it possible to perform window-basedmatching centering on image pixels to estimate a three-dimensional pointgroup based on the principle of triangulation.

In this case, Sum of Squared Differences (SSD) in luminance is used asthe window-based matching. The shape estimation unit 204 further meshesthe three-dimensional point group by using the general Delaunaytriangulation. Then, the shape estimation unit 204 outputs the meshedthree-dimensional shape to the image quality evaluation unit 206 and theimage stitching unit 209.

The feature evaluation unit 205 evaluates the feature points by usingthe kurtosis of the positions of two-dimensional coordinates of featurepoints in the images and the number of feature points. Morespecifically, the feature evaluation unit 205 calculates an evaluationvalue V for each image by using Equation (1).

$\begin{matrix}{V = {{\alpha \cdot \frac{1}{1 + {\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{2}\; {Ku}_{j}}}} + {\beta \cdot N}}} & {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} (1)}\end{matrix}$

Referring to Equation (1), α and β are arbitrary coefficients indicatingthe weights of the first and the second terms, respectively. Accordingto the present exemplary embodiment, both α and β are 1. Referring toEquation (1), Ku denotes the kurtosis of the position distribution intwo-dimensional coordinates of features points in the images, acoefficient j denotes the dimension of the images, and N denotes thenumber of feature points. In Equation (1), the evaluation increases withdecreasing kurtosis of the distribution (Ku) and increasing number offeature points (N). More specifically, Equation (1) indicates that ahigher evaluation value results for images having feature points thatare uniformly distributed in the images and having a larger number offeature points. N may be the number of feature points that can bematched with feature points of other images. Likewise, also for featurepoints to be used for the calculation of the kurtosis of positiondistribution of two-dimensional coordinates of features points in theimages, only feature points that can be matched with feature points ofother images may be used for the calculation.

The image quality evaluation unit 206 estimates the resolution of theimage capturing target object appearing in the input images acquired bythe image input unit 201. According to the present exemplary embodiment,the image quality evaluation unit 206 estimates how many pixels of theimage corresponds to a length of 1 mm on the object. For example, when a3,000 mm by 3,000 mm region on the object is imaged with a camera with3,000*3,000 pixels, the object is imaged with a resolution of 1 pixelper 1 mm. The number of pixels corresponding to a length of 1 mm on theobject can be geometrically calculated based on information about thethree-dimensional shape estimated by the shape estimation unit 204, thecamera position and orientation estimated by the position andorientation estimation unit 203, and the size and internal cameraparameters of the images input to the image input unit 201.

The threshold value holding unit 207 holds the threshold values intabular form. FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a table 301 held by thethreshold value holding unit 207. The table 301 holds a threshold value302 for the feature point evaluation value and a threshold value 303 forthe image quality evaluation value. The threshold value 303 for theimage quality evaluation value in the table 301 is the resolution on theobject, which means, in the example shown in FIG. 3, 1 pixel per 1 mm.

The image evaluation unit 208 compares the evaluation value of theresult of evaluation by the feature evaluation unit 205 with thethreshold value 302 for the feature point evaluation value held by thethreshold value holding unit 207. When the feature point evaluationvalue is equal to or larger than the threshold value 302, the imageevaluation unit 208 further compares the image resolution of each regionsupplied by the image quality evaluation unit 206 with the thresholdvalue 303 for the image quality evaluation value held by the thresholdvalue holding unit 207 to identify pixels having an image qualityevaluation value equal to or larger than the threshold value 303.

According to the present exemplary embodiment, the image resolution foreach region is assumed to be the resolution supplied for each pixel inthe images. Then, the image evaluation unit 208 outputs positioninformation for pixels identified to have an image quality evaluationvalue equal to or larger than the threshold value to the image stitchingunit 209 as information about the regions available for defectinspection. The information about the regions available for inspectionspecifically refers to a two-dimensional array including the same numberof pixels as the images input to the image input unit 201, where eachpixel available for inspection is supplied with “1” and each pixel notavailable for inspection is supplied with “0”.

The image evaluation unit 208 is also able to hold values between 0 to 1on a multi-value basis, instead of supplying “1” to the regionsavailable for inspection and supplying “0” to the regions not availablefor inspection in the images. With this method, an image portion wherethere is no region available for inspection can be compensated with animage portion having a value of the region available for inspectionclosest to “1” in other images when the image stitching unit 209performs image stitching.

FIG. 4 illustrates image stitching processing performed by the imagestitching unit 209. A three-dimensional shape 401 is thethree-dimensional shape estimated by the shape estimation unit 204.Referring to FIG. 4, positions 403 and 407 denote the positions ofprincipal points of the camera(s) at different positions. Imaging planes402 and 406 represent imaging planes of the camera(s) at these differentpositions. Although the imaging planes 402 and 406 are originallypositioned behind the principal points, the following descriptions willbe made on the premise that these imaging planes are disposed in frontof the principal points in consideration of the understandability of thedrawing. Referring to FIG. 4, the imaging planes 402 and 406 representcrack images 409 and 410, respectively, as defect images formed onrespective surfaces. FIG. 4 illustrates that the crack images 409 and410 are captured and recorded.

Regions 404 and 408 are regions available for inspection in atwo-dimensional array input from the image evaluation unit 208.Projection images 405 and 411 represent the projection of the regions404 and 408 available for inspection onto the three-dimensional shape401, out of the images on the imaging planes 402 and 406, respectively.A region 412 illustrates a region where the projection images 405 and411 overlap with each other.

The image stitching unit 209 generates the projection images 405 and 411of all of the images where the regions available for inspection exist,for the three-dimensional shape 401, and projects these projectionimages onto the three-dimensional shape 401. The image stitching unit209 also performs blending processing on a region where images areoverlapping, such as the region 412. As the blending processing, forexample, multi-band blending processing can be used.

The images of the imaging planes 402 and 406 in the informationprocessing apparatus 100 according to the present exemplary embodimentare subjected to the feature point evaluation by the feature evaluationunit 205. Thus, the projection images 405 and 411 having a small amountof positional deviation in the images can be obtained. By obtainingprojection images having a small amount of positional deviation in theimages, an effect of preventing degradation of the accuracy in crackevaluation as defect evaluation can be obtained. The reason is asfollows. If a position deviation occurs between images in crackinspection, one crack may be broken and accordingly recognized as twodifferent cracks. The present exemplary embodiment makes it possible toreduce the amount of position deviation.

Even when the object is captured from an oblique position such as theposition 403 of the principal point of the camera, the informationprocessing apparatus 100 according to the present exemplary embodimentis able to obtain the projection image 405 since the region 404available for inspection exists. This is effective in a case where thecamera is able to image the object only from an oblique position becauseof the presence of an obstacle or other physical reasons.

The flow of processing performed by the information processing apparatus100 according to the first exemplary embodiment will be described belowwith reference to the flowcharts illustrated in FIGS. 5, 6, 7, and 8.

A flow of overall processing of the information processing apparatus 100will be described below with reference to the flowchart illustrated inFIG. 5.

In step S501, the image input unit 201 acquires images captured by thecamera. The image input unit 201 may acquire images from a storagemedium storing images captured by a camera, or acquire images capturedby a camera via a network. Upon completion of step S501, the processingof the information processing apparatus 100 proceeds to step S502.

In step S502, the feature extraction unit 202 performs processing forextracting feature points on all of the images acquired by the imageinput unit 201. In step S503, the feature extraction unit 202 performsmatching between feature points. The feature extraction unit 202 outputsinformation about feature points and information about feature pointmatching to the position and orientation estimation unit 203 and thefeature evaluation unit 205. Upon completion of step S502, theprocessing of the information processing apparatus 100 proceeds to stepS504.

In step S504, the position and orientation estimation unit 203 estimatesthe camera position and orientation based on the information aboutfeature points and the information about feature point matching inputfrom the feature extraction unit 202. The position and orientationestimation unit 203 further outputs the information about the cameraposition and orientation to the shape estimation unit 204, the imagequality evaluation unit 206. and the image stitching unit 209. Uponcompletion of step S504, the processing of the information processingapparatus 100 proceeds to step S505.

In step S505, the shape estimation unit 204 estimates thethree-dimensional shape of the object based on the information about thecamera position and orientation input from the position and orientationestimation unit 203 and the images input from the image input unit 201.Upon completion of step S505, the processing of the informationprocessing apparatus 100 proceeds to step S506.

In step S506, the information processing apparatus 100 performsprocessing for evaluating the images available for inspection. Theprocessing in step S506 will be described in detail below with referenceto the flowcharts illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7. Upon completion of stepS506, the processing of the information processing apparatus 100proceeds to step S507.

In step S507, the information processing apparatus 100 performs imagestitching as post-processing. The processing in step S507 will bedescribed in detail below with reference to the flowchart illustrated inFIG. 8. Upon completion of the processing in step S507, the processingof the information processing apparatus 100 ends.

FIG. 6 is a detailed flowchart illustrating processing for evaluatingthe images available for inspection in step S506 illustrated in FIG. 5.

In step S601 illustrated in FIG. 6, the image evaluation unit 208determines whether the image evaluation is completed for all of theimages input from the image input unit 201. When the image evaluationunit 208 determines that the image evaluation is completed for all ofthe input images (YES in step S601), the image evaluation unit 208 endsthe processing for evaluating the images available for inspection. Then,the processing of the information processing apparatus 100 proceeds tostep S507. On the other hand, when the image evaluation unit 208determines that the image evaluation is not completed for all of theinput images (NO in step S601), the processing of the informationprocessing apparatus 100 proceeds to step S602.

In step S602, the feature evaluation unit 205 acquires the informationabout feature points from the feature extraction unit 202 and calculatesthe evaluation value of the feature points. An evaluation Equationdenoted by Equation (1) is used to calculate the evaluation value offeature points. Upon completion of step S602, the processing of theinformation processing apparatus 100 proceeds to step S603.

In step S603, the image evaluation unit 208 compares the feature pointevaluation value calculated by the feature evaluation unit 205 with thethreshold value 302 for the feature point evaluation value held by thethreshold value holding unit 207 to determine whether the feature pointevaluation value is equal to or larger than the threshold value. Whenthe image evaluation unit 208 determines that the feature pointevaluation value is equal to or larger than the threshold value (YES instep S603), the processing of the information processing apparatus 100proceeds to step S604. On the other hand, when the image evaluation unit208 determines that the feature point evaluation value is smaller thanthe threshold value (NO in step S603), the processing of the informationprocessing apparatus 100 returns to step S601.

In step S604, the information processing apparatus 100 performs theimage quality evaluation processing. Then, the processing of theinformation processing apparatus 100 returns to step S601.

FIG. 7 is a detailed flowchart illustrating the image quality evaluationprocessing in step S604 illustrated in FIG. 6.

In step S701, the image quality evaluation unit 206 estimates theresolution distribution on the object based on the images input from theimage input unit 201. Upon completion of step S701, the processing ofthe information processing apparatus 100 proceeds to step S702.

In step S702, the image evaluation unit 208 compares the resolution foreach pixel in the images supplied by the image quality evaluation unit206 with the threshold value 303 for the image quality evaluation valueheld by the threshold value holding unit 207 to determine whether thereexists a pixel having a value equal to or larger than the thresholdvalue. When the image evaluation unit 208 determines that there exists apixel having a value equal to or larger than the threshold value (YES instep S702), the processing of the information processing apparatus 100proceeds to step S703. On the other hand, when the image evaluation unit208 determines that there exists no pixel having a value equal to orlarger than the threshold value (NO in step S702), the informationprocessing apparatus 100 ends the image quality evaluation processing.

In step S703, the image evaluation unit 208 outputs position informationfor a pixel identified to have a value equal to or larger than thethreshold value in S702 to the image stitching unit 209 as informationabout the region available for inspection. Then, the informationprocessing apparatus 100 ends the image quality evaluation processing.

FIG. 8 is a detailed flowchart illustrating the post-processing in stepS507 illustrated in FIG. 5.

In step S801, the image stitching unit 209 reads the three-dimensionalshape from the shape estimation unit 204. Then, the processing proceedsto step S802.

In step S802, the image stitching unit 209 reads the camera position andorientation estimated by the position and orientation estimation unit203. Then, the processing proceeds to step S803.

In step S803, the image stitching unit 209 acquires the images inputfrom the image input unit 201. The image stitching unit 209 alsoacquires the information about the regions available for inspectioncorresponding to the images input from the image input unit 201, fromthe image evaluation unit 208. Then, the processing proceeds to stepS804.

In step S804, the image stitching unit 209 projects the images of theregions available for inspection corresponding to the images input fromthe image input unit 201 onto the three-dimensional shape input from theshape estimation unit 204, based on the camera position and orientation.Then, the processing proceeds to step S805.

In step S805, the image stitching unit 209 performs the blendingprocessing on the overlapping portion of the images projected onto thethree-dimensional shape input from the shape estimation unit 204. Then,the processing of the information processing apparatus 100 ends.

As described above, the information processing apparatus 100 accordingto the first exemplary embodiment evaluates the feature points of theimages and the image resolution, and projects the images havingpreferable evaluation results to a three-dimensional shape. Morespecifically, the present exemplary embodiment makes it possible toreduce image stitching failure through the stitching processing usingthe feature points available for accurate positioning and to stitchimages having a resolution available for defect inspection. Thus, thepresent exemplary embodiment makes it possible to acquire imagesavailable for defect evaluation of an object such as an infrastructure,and therefore to recognize defects of the object.

As a first modification of the first exemplary embodiment, an examplewhere the index of the image quality to be evaluated by the imagequality evaluation unit 206 is the defocus amount, i.e., an examplewhere the degree of focusing on the object is evaluated by the imagequality evaluation unit 206 is described. The defocus amount refers to anumerical representation of the amount of anteroposterior deviation infocusing on the object at pixel positions in the images. At the time ofimage capturing, the defocus amount can be acquired as defocus amountinformation at pixel positions by using an imaging plane phasedifference image sensor. As a method for acquiring the defocus amountinformation, a known technique can be used. For example, an automaticfocus technique using the amount of anteroposterior deviation infocusing detected by the imaging plane phase difference image sensor hasalready been widely used.

FIG. 18 illustrates an example of a defocus map for visualizing thedefocus amount information for the images input from the image inputunit 201. According to the first modification, the defocus amountinformation is detected based on the size of a permissiblecircle-of-confusion focused on the pixels of the image sensor. Thedefocus amount information accompanies the images input from the imageinput unit 201. An outer frame 1801 is a frame corresponding to theimage size (image boundary) of the input images. A numerical value 1802indicates information about the defocus amount in each region. A line1803 indicates a boundary line between regions having different defocusamounts.

In the defocus map, a region to which “0” is assigned indicates anerror-free region in the focusing unit of an imaging apparatus, a regionto which “−1” is assigned indicates a region of the front focus in onefocusing unit of the imaging apparatus, and a region to which “1” isassigned indicates a region of the rear focus in one focusing unit ofthe imaging apparatus. The focusing unit may be any level-based unitthat enables the determination of the focusing state (degree). Forexample, the width of the defocus amount, such as 5 mm or 8 mm in thedepth direction, can be defined as one unit. There is a value determinedby the ratio of the size of the image sensor of the imaging apparatus tothe size of the permissible circle-of-confusion of an optical lenssystem including a diaphragm.

In the following descriptions, configurations which have already beendescribed above in the first exemplary embodiment are assigned the samereference numerals, and redundant descriptions thereof will be omitted.The following descriptions will be made centering on differences fromthe first exemplary embodiment. The functional configuration of theinformation processing apparatus 100 according to the first modificationis similar to that according to the first exemplary embodimentillustrated in FIG. 2. However, the modification differs from the firstexemplary embodiment in the operations of the image quality evaluationunit 206 and in the threshold values held by the threshold informationholding unit 207. The image quality evaluation unit 206 according to thefirst modification acquires the defocus amount information accompanyinginput images acquired by the image input unit 201. According to thefirst modification, the defocus amount information is informationaccompanying images. When images are RAW data holding information aboutan imaging plane phase difference image sensor, the defocus amountinformation is calculated based on phase difference information.

The threshold information holding unit 207 holds threshold values intabular form. FIG. 19 illustrates an example of a table 1901 held by thethreshold value holding unit 207 according to the first modification.The table 1901 holds a threshold value 1902 for the feature pointevaluation value and a threshold value 1903 for the image qualityevaluation value. The threshold value 1903 for the image qualityevaluation value in the table 1901 refers to a threshold value for thevalue of the defocus amount corresponding to the image. According to thefirst modification, regions where the value of the defocus amount is 5or less are regions available for inspection. More specifically,referring to the defocus map illustrated in FIG. 18, for example, imageregions other than some regions on the right-hand side, where the valueof the defocus amount is 6 or larger, are regions available forinspection.

FIG. 20 illustrates the image stitching processing performed by theimage stitching unit 209 and corresponds to FIG. 4 according to thefirst exemplary embodiment. A three-dimensional shape 401 is thethree-dimensional shape estimated by the shape estimation unit 204.Referring to FIG. 20, positions 403 and 407 indicate the positions ofthe principal points of the camera(s) at different positions. Imagingplanes 2001 and 2002 represent imaging planes of the camera(s) at thesedifferent positions. Referring to FIG. 20, like FIG. 4, the imagingplanes are disposed in front of the principal points in consideration ofthe understandability of the drawing. In addition, the imaging planes2001 and 2002 represent crack images 2003 and 2004, respectively, asdefect images focused on respective planes, and the crack images 2003and 2004 are captured and recorded.

Regions 2005 and 2006 are regions available for inspection in atwo-dimensional array input from the image evaluation unit 208.Projection images 2007 and 2008 represent the projection of the regions2005 and 2006 available for inspection, out of the images on the imagingplanes 2001 and 2002, respectively, onto the three-dimensional shape401.

The image stitching unit 209 generates the projection images 2007 and2008 in all of the images where the regions available for inspectionexist for the three-dimensional shape 401, and projects these projectionimages onto the three-dimensional shape 401. Like the first exemplaryembodiment, the image stitching unit 209 also performs blendingprocessing on a region where images are overlapping, such as the region412. Also, in the first modification, the images on the imaging planes2001 and 2002 in the information processing apparatus 100 are subjectedto the feature point evaluation by the feature evaluation unit 205.Thus, the projection images 2007 and 2008 having a small amount ofpositional deviation in the images can be obtained. Even when the objectis captured from an oblique position such as the position 403 of theprincipal point of the camera, the information processing apparatus 100according to the first modification makes it possible to obtain theprojection image 2007 since the region 2005 available for inspectionexists.

The processing of the information processing apparatus 100 according toa modification of the first exemplary embodiment is performed accordingto the flowcharts illustrated in FIGS. 5, 6, 8, and 21. The flowchartsillustrated in FIGS. 5 and 8 are similar to those according to the firstexemplary embodiment, and redundant descriptions thereof will beomitted. In the image quality evaluation processing illustrated in FIG.6, the processing of the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 21 is performedinstead of the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 7.

The image quality evaluation processing in step S604 illustrated in FIG.6 according to the modification will be described in detail below withreference to the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 21. In step S2101, theimage quality evaluation unit 206 acquires defocus amount distributioninformation for the images input from the image input unit 201. In stepS2102, the image evaluation unit 208 compares information for thedefocus amount for each pixel in the images supplied by the imagequality evaluation unit 206 with the threshold value 1903 for the imagequality evaluation value held by the threshold value holding unit 207 todetermine whether there exists a pixel having a defocus amount largerthan the threshold value. When the image evaluation unit 208 determinesthat there exists a pixel having a defocus amount larger than thethreshold value (YES in step S2102), the processing of the informationprocessing apparatus 100 proceeds to step S2103. On the other hand, whenthe image evaluation unit 208 determines that there exists no pixelhaving a defocus amount larger than the threshold value (NO in stepS2102), the information processing apparatus 100 ends the image qualityevaluation processing.

In step S2103, the image evaluation unit 208 outputs positioninformation for a pixel identified to have a defocus amount larger thanthe threshold value in S2102 to the image stitching unit 209, asinformation about the region available for inspection. Then, theinformation processing apparatus 100 ends the image quality evaluationprocessing.

As discussed above, the information processing apparatus 100 accordingto the first modification of the first exemplary embodiment evaluatesthe feature points and the defocus amount of images, and projects imageswith the preferable evaluation results to a three-dimensional shape.More specifically, the first modification makes it possible to reduceimage stitching failure through the stitching processing using thefeature points available for accurate positioning and to stitch imageshaving a defocus amount available for defect inspection.

The use of the defocus amount for the evaluation in image stitchingmakes it possible to use only the regions where the focus is within athreshold value, thus eliminating image failure caused due to a physicalerror factor that had been unavoidable in the geometric resolutionestimation according to the first exemplary embodiment. If a stitchedimage becomes an in-focus unclear image, this problem can be handled asa report item when performing image capturing again as a problem ofimage shake in image capturing. Alternatively, if the amount of imageshake width can be confirmed in the unclear image, it is possible toperform defect inspection in consideration of image shake instead ofperforming image capturing again. Thus, the first modification makes itpossible to acquire defocus-amount-based available images for the defectevaluation on an object such as an infrastructure and therefore torecognize defects of the object.

According to the first exemplary embodiment and the first modification,the processing of the information processing apparatus 100 ends when theimage stitching unit 209 projects input image regions where the imagequality satisfies the allowable conditions, onto the three-dimensionalshape estimated based on the feature amount of the input images. Asecond modification of the first exemplary embodiment will be describedbelow centering on a case where processing for generating inspectionimages to be used for object inspection works is added.

Inspection of an object specifically refers to identifying andevaluating cracks and other defects based on captured images of astructure (infrastructure) as an object under inspection. Defectidentification works are manually performed. Alternatively, defectidentification works are performed by detecting defects in the images byusing a learnt model that have learned. In either case, it is preferableto use images viewed from a viewpoint facing the surface underinspection of the structure. For example, when defects are cracks, acrack width is viewed in different ways between a case where thestructure is viewed from a viewpoint facing the structure and a casewhere the structure is viewed from a viewpoint tilted by a tilt angle.More specifically, in an image captured in tilt image capturing, crackshaving the same width existing on the near and far sides in the imageare viewed in different ways. Therefore, it is necessary to determinethe crack width based on different criteria. When performing defectidentification works within a wide range of a large structure, it istroublesome to minutely change the determination criterion inconsideration of the tilt angle for each region. To identify defectsbased on determination criterion unified as much as possible on theentire portion of a large structure in this way, it is preferable to useinspection images equivalent to images of the structure captured from aposition facing each region of the structure.

According to the first exemplary embodiment and the first modification,the image stitching unit 209 can generate a three-dimensional model inwhich input image regions where the image quality satisfies theallowable conditions are projected onto the three-dimensional shapeestimated based on the feature amounts of the input images. Therefore,inspection images for the structure can be generated by a generationunit as a function of the CPU 101. More specifically, with the positionof a virtual camera arbitrarily set, the generation unit clips partialimages viewed from a position facing the structure to a size suitablefor processing in the subsequent stage to generate inspection images.The information processing apparatus 100 displays the generatedinspection images on the display apparatus 107. When manually performinginspection, an inspector identifies crack portions based on thedisplayed inspection images and inputs crack information by using theinput apparatus 110. For example, cracks of the inspection images aretraced by using a pointing device.

A second exemplary embodiment will be described below.

According to the second exemplary embodiment, unlike the first exemplaryembodiment, the image quality evaluation unit 206 also evaluates notonly the resolution on the object but also the angle between lightincident to the camera and a surface of an object. In the followingdescriptions, configurations which have already been described above inthe first exemplary embodiment are assigned the same reference numerals,and redundant descriptions thereof will be omitted. The image qualityevaluation unit 206 different from that according to the first exemplaryembodiment will be described in detail below.

For each pixel in the images input from the image input unit 201, theimage quality evaluation unit 206 estimates the angle between lightincident to the camera and the object surface based on thethree-dimensional shape estimated by the shape estimation unit 204 andthe camera position and orientation estimated by the position andorientation estimation unit 203.

The angle between light incident to the camera and the object surfacewill be described below with reference to FIG. 9.

The angle between light incident to the camera and the object surfacerefers to an angle 904 illustrated in FIG. 9. The angle 904 is an anglecorresponding to a position 905 in the image on the imaging plane 406.The angle 904 is an angle made by lines 903 and 908. The line 903 is aline starting from the principal point 407 of the camera and passingthrough the position 905 in the image. The line 908 is a line connectingintersections 902 and 907. The intersection 907 is an intersectionbetween the line 903 and the three-dimensional shape 401 of the objectsurface. The intersection 902 is an intersection between a line 901 andthe three-dimensional shape 401 of the object surface. The line 901 is aline starting from the principal point 407 of the camera and passingthrough the image center.

When the angle 904 decreases, cracks appearing on the imaging plane 406appears thin in the image. Therefore, when actually performinginspection by using the stitched image generated by the informationprocessing apparatus 100, the crack width may be incorrectly recognizedthinner than it actually is.

Therefore, the present exemplary embodiment is intended to reduce thepossibility that the crack width is incorrectly recognized thinner thanit actually is by setting a predetermined value or larger to the anglebetween light incident to the camera and the object surface. Accordingto the present exemplary embodiment, the predetermined value is, forexample, 60 degrees or more.

The information processing apparatus 100 according to the presentexemplary embodiment holds the threshold value for the angle betweenlight incident to the camera and the object surface in tabular form inthe threshold value holding unit 207, and adds the threshold value, forexample, to the line below the threshold value 303 for the image qualityevaluation value illustrated in FIG. 3.

Then, for each pixel in the images input from the image input unit 201,the image quality evaluation unit 206 evaluates whether the anglebetween light incident to the camera and the object surface is equal toor larger than a threshold value, in addition to the resolution on theobject. In the case of the example illustrated in FIG. 9, the regionwhere an angle of light incident to the camera with respect to theobject surface is equal to or larger than the threshold value is insidea region 906.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of the image qualityevaluation processing of the information processing apparatus 100according to the second exemplary embodiment. The processing in stepsS702 and S703 of the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 10 is similar to theprocessing in steps S702 and S703 of the flowchart illustrated in FIG.7, respectively, and redundant descriptions thereof will be omitted.According to the second exemplary embodiment, processing other than theimage quality evaluation processing in step S604 according to the firstexemplary embodiment is similar to the processing flow according to thefirst exemplary embodiment.

The image quality evaluation processing in step S604 according to thesecond exemplary embodiment will be described below with reference tothe flowchart illustrated in FIG. 10.

In step S1001 with respect to the images input from the image input unit201, the image quality evaluation unit 206 calculates the angle betweenlight incident to the camera and the object surface for each pixel.Then, the processing of the image quality evaluation unit 206 proceedsto step S1002.

In step S1002, the image quality evaluation unit 206 reads the thresholdvalue for the angle between light incident to the camera and the objectsurface, from the threshold value holding unit 207. Then, the imagequality evaluation unit 206 identifies regions where the angle betweenlight incident to the camera and the object surface is equal to orlarger than the threshold value. The image quality evaluation unit 206further estimates the resolution distribution on the object for pixelsbelonging to the regions where the angle between light incident to thecamera and the object surface is equal to or larger than the thresholdvalue. Then, the processing of the information processing apparatus 100proceeds to step S702. The processing in steps S702 and S703 is similarto the processing in the flowchart according to the first exemplaryembodiment illustrated in FIG. 7, and redundant descriptions thereofwill be omitted.

As described above, the information processing apparatus 100 accordingto the second exemplary embodiment makes it possible to reduce thepossibility that the crack width is incorrectly recognized thinner thanit actually is by evaluating the angle between light incident to thecamera and the object surface.

A third exemplary embodiment will be described below. In the followingdescriptions, configurations which have already been described above inthe first exemplary embodiment are assigned the same reference numerals,and redundant descriptions thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 11 is a function block diagram illustrating a functionalconfiguration of the information processing apparatus 100 according tothe third exemplary embodiment. The configuration illustrated in FIG. 11includes the configuration according to the first exemplary embodimentillustrated in FIG. 2 and an additional display unit 1101. The displayunit 1101 will be mainly described below.

According to the third exemplary embodiment, the info' cation processingapparatus 100 is connected, for example, to a camera. The image inputunit 201 sequentially acquires images of an object captured by thecamera. Then, the display unit 1101 instructs the display apparatus 107to display a stitched image generated by the image stitching unit 209.More specifically, the display unit 1101 instructs the display apparatus107 to display the stitched image generated by the image stitching unit209 to present the stitched image to the user who is imaging the targetobject. The information processing apparatus 100 according to the thirdexemplary embodiment may be built in the camera.

FIG. 12 illustrates display contents on the display unit 1101 accordingto the third exemplary embodiment. The display unit 1101 displays thethree-dimensional shape 401 estimated by the shape estimation unit 204,and the projection images 405 and 411 generated by the image stitchingunit 209, on a display screen 1201 of the display apparatus 107. Morespecifically, the display unit 1101 continues the display correspondingto the sequentially input images to the image input unit 201 whilesequentially updating the display.

According to the third exemplary embodiment, the image evaluation unit208 evaluates new images sequentially acquired by the image input unit201 but does not re-evaluate images that have already been evaluated.Therefore, according to the third exemplary embodiment, when the imageevaluation is completed for all of the images in the processing forevaluating the images available for inspection in step S601 illustratedin FIG. 6 according to the first exemplary embodiment (YES in stepS601), the image evaluation unit 208 ends the processing. On the otherhand, when the image evaluation is not completed for all of the images(NO in step S601), the processing proceeds to step S602.

If the shape estimation unit 204 does not acquired at least two imagesfrom the image input unit 201, the shape estimation unit 204 cannotestimate the three-dimensional shape. Therefore, the display unit 1101starts displaying the estimated three-dimensional shape 401 after apredetermined number of images are input from the image input unit 201and the shape estimation is performed by the shape estimation unit 204.According to the present exemplary embodiment, the display unit 1101starts the display after 10 images have been input from the image inputunit 201.

In the processing of the information processing apparatus 100 accordingto the third exemplary embodiment, processing other than thepost-processing in step S507 according to the first exemplary embodimentis similar to the processing according to the first exemplaryembodiment. Therefore, the post-processing in step S507 according to thepresent exemplary embodiment will be described below with reference tothe flowchart illustrated in FIG. 13. Processing in steps S801, S802,S803, and S804 illustrated in FIG. 13 is similar to the processingassigned the same reference numerals illustrated in FIG. 8, andredundant descriptions thereof will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 13, upon completion of the processing in step S804,the processing of the information processing apparatus 100 proceeds tostep S1301.

In step S1301, the display unit 1101 displays the three-dimensionalshape 401 and the projection images 405 and 411 on the display screen1201. Then, the information processing apparatus 100 ends thepost-processing in step S507.

As discussed above, the display unit 1101 of the information processingapparatus 100 according to the third exemplary embodiment displays thethree-dimensional shape 401 and the projection images 405 and 411corresponding to the sequentially acquired input images, on the displayscreen 1201. This enables the user to reference the display on thedisplay screen 1201 during image capturing of the object to recognizeregions where inspectable images have been captured and regions whereinspectable images have not been captured on the object.

A fourth exemplary embodiment will be described below. In the followingdescriptions, configurations which have already been described above inthe first exemplary embodiment are assigned the same reference numerals,and redundant descriptions thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 14 is a function block diagram illustrating a functionalconfiguration of the information processing apparatus 100 according tothe fourth exemplary embodiment. The configuration according to thefourth exemplary embodiment includes the functional configurationaccording to the first exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 and adefect detection unit 1401, an estimation error holding unit 1402, and adisplay unit 1403 as additional configurations, instead of the imagestitching unit 209. Therefore, the defect detection unit 1401, theestimation error holding unit 1402, and the display unit 1403 will bedescribed below.

The defect detection unit 1401 detects cracks as examples of defectsbased on the images input from the image input unit 201. As a crackdetection method, a method for extracting edges by using a Sobel filteris applicable. In addition, the defect detection unit 1401 performsnoise removal processing and labeling processing as labeling to theresult of crack detection to remove small-area labels. With respect tothe labeled cracks, the defect detection unit 1401 further referencesresolution information on the object input from the image qualityevaluation unit 206. Then, the defect detection unit 1401 reads theresolution information on the object corresponding to the labeled crackpositions, associates the resolution information with the labeledcracks, and outputs the resolution information to the display unit 1403.

If there are two or more pieces of resolution information on the objectcorresponding to the labeled cracks, the defect detection unit 1401supplies information with the lowest resolution. For example, when thereare two different resolutions “1 pixel per 1 mm” and “0.5 pixels per 1mm”, the defect detection unit 1401 supplies “0.5 pixels per 1 mm”.

The estimation error holding unit 1402 holds a table for the estimationaccuracy of the crack width corresponding to the resolution on theobject. FIG. 15 illustrates an example of a table 1501 held by theestimation error holding unit 1402. Referring to the table 1501,accuracies 1502, 1503, and 1504 represent the estimation accuracy of thecrack width corresponding to the resolution on the object. For example,the accuracy 1502 means that, when image capturing is performed with aresolution of 0.5 pixels per 1 mm on the object, the estimation accuracyof the crack width becomes ±0.2 mm.

The display unit 1403 displays information on the display screen to theuser who is imaging the object. The display unit 1403 according to thefourth exemplary embodiment continues the display corresponding to theimages sequentially input to the image input unit 201 while updating thedisplay. In the fourth exemplary embodiment, like the third exemplaryembodiment, the display unit 1403 starts the display after 10 imageshave been input from the image input unit 201.

FIG. 16 illustrates detailed contents displayed on a display screen 1602of a camera 1601 by the display unit 1403. More specifically, referringto FIG. 16, the information processing apparatus 100 according to thepresent exemplary embodiment is built in the camera 1601. The displayunit 1403 displays the images input from the image input unit 201, onthe display screen 1602 of the camera 1601. In the example illustratedin FIG. 16, the display screen 1602 displays an image capturing targetobject 1603 on the images input from the image input unit 201. In thisexample, the camera 1601 performs image capturing from an obliquedirection with respect to the surface of the image capturing targetobject 1603.

The display unit 1403 superimposes information 1609 about the regionsavailable for inspection output from the image evaluation unit 208 ontothe images input from the image input unit 201. This display enables theuser to grasp which range of the image capturing target object 1603 canbe captured as regions available for inspection.

In addition, the display unit 1403 reads information about theevaluation of feature points from the image evaluation unit 208 anddisplays feature point evaluation information 1608 on the display screen1602. The feature point evaluation information 1608 displays, forexample, “o” and “x” based on the threshold value 302 for the featurepoint evaluation held by the threshold value holding unit 207. “o”indicates that the feature point evaluation information 1608 is equal toor larger than the threshold value 302, and “x” indicates that thefeature point evaluation information 1608 is less than the thresholdvalue 302.

In addition, the display unit 1403 acquires the information about thelabeled cracks and the resolution information on the object associatedwith the labels, input from the defect detection unit 1401. Then, thedisplay unit 1403 references the table of the estimation error holdingunit 1402 and acquires crack width estimation error information based onthe resolution information on the object.

The display unit 1403 displays crack portions based on the crackinformation input from the defect detection unit 1401, on the displayscreen 1602 as crack information 1604 and 1605.

Finally, the display unit 1403 superimposes crack width estimation errorinformation 1606 and 1607 corresponding to the crack information 1604and 1605, respectively, on the display screen 1602.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating the post-processing flow in theinformation processing apparatus 100 according to the fourth exemplaryembodiment. In the processing flow of the information processingapparatus 100 according to the fourth exemplary embodiment, processingother than the post-processing in step S507 according to the firstexemplary embodiment is similar to the processing according to the firstexemplary embodiment. The post-processing in step S507 according to thefourth exemplary embodiment will be described below.

In step S1701, the display unit 1403 displays the images input from theimage input unit 201 on the display screen 1602. Then, the processing ofthe display unit 1403 proceeds to step S1702.

In step S1702, the display unit 1403 superimposes the information 1609about the regions available for inspection output from the imageevaluation unit 208, onto the images input from the image input unit201. Then, the processing of the display unit 1403 proceeds to stepS1703.

In step S1703, the display unit 1403 reads the feature point evaluationinformation from image evaluation unit 208 and displays the featurepoint evaluation information 1608 on the display screen 1602. Uponcompletion of step S1703, the processing of the information processingapparatus 100 proceeds to step S1704.

In step S1704, the defect detection unit 1401 detects cracks based onthe images input from the image input unit 201. Then, the processing ofthe defect detection unit 1401 proceeds to step S1705.

In step S1705, the defect detection unit 1401 references the resolutioninformation on the object input from the image quality evaluation unit206. Then, the defect detection unit 1401 reads the resolutioninformation on the object corresponding to the labeled crack positions,associates the resolution information with the labeled cracks, andoutputs the resolution information to the display unit 1403. Uponcompletion of step S1705, the processing of the information processingapparatus 100 proceeds to step S1706.

In step S1706, the display unit 1403 displays crack portions based onthe crack information input from the defect detection unit 1401, on thedisplay screen 1602. Then, the processing of the display unit 1403proceeds to step S1707.

In step S1707, the display unit 1403 superimposes the crack widthestimation error information on the display screen 1602. Then, theinformation processing apparatus 100 ends the post-processing in stepS507.

As discussed above, the information processing apparatus 100 accordingto the fourth exemplary embodiment displays the information about theregions available for inspection, the feature point evaluationinformation, the crack information, and the crack width estimation errorinformation on the display screen 1602 of the display unit 1403. Theinformation displayed in this way enables the user to reference thedisplay screen 1602 at the time of image capturing of the object torecognize which region of the object can be captured with an imagequality available for inspection at the current capturing angle. Theinformation also enables the user to reference the feature pointevaluation information to recognize whether the captured image can beaccurately projected at the time of image projection. In addition, theinformation enables the user to reference the crack information and thecrack width estimation error information to confirm whether cracks canbe detected and at the same time confirm a measure of the crack widthestimation accuracy.

Although, in the fourth exemplary embodiment, the defect detectionprocessing is performed instead of the above-described image stitchingprocessing according to the first to third exemplary embodiments, thepresent invention is not limited thereto. The above-described defectdetection unit 1401 may be used for the defect detection processing forstitched images or the defect detection processing for inspection imagesaccording to the second modification of the first exemplary embodiment.

According to the present invention, it becomes possible to acquireimages available for the evaluation of defects of an object such as aninfrastructure and recognize defects of the object.

Other Embodiments

Embodiment(s) of the present invention can also be realized by acomputer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computerexecutable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on astorage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/orthat includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or moreof the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by thecomputer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out andexecuting the computer executable instructions from the storage mediumto perform the functions of one or more of the above-describedembodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). Thecomputer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processingunit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network ofseparate computers or separate processors to read out and execute thecomputer executable instructions. The computer executable instructionsmay be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or thestorage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or moreof a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM),a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as acompact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™),a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent structures andfunctions.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.2019-017910, filed Feb. 4, 2019, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information processing apparatus comprising: afeature extraction unit configured to extract feature points from eachof a plurality of images of an object to be inspected captured from aplurality of viewpoints; an image quality evaluation unit configured to,for each of the plurality of images, evaluate whether an image qualitybased on a predetermined index satisfies allowable conditions forinspection works of the object; and an image stitching unit configuredto stitch at least a part of the images, among the plurality of images,having the image quality that satisfies the allowable conditionsaccording to a positional relation based on the feature points extractedby the extraction unit.
 2. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein, each of the plurality of images includesa plurality of regions, and for each of the plurality of regions in eachof the plurality of images, the image quality evaluation unit evaluateswhether the image quality based on the predetermined index satisfies theallowable conditions for inspection works of the object, and wherein theimage stitching unit stitches partial regions included in the pluralityof images having the image quality that satisfies the allowableconditions according to the positional relation based on the extractedfeature points.
 3. The information processing apparatus according toclaim 2, wherein the image quality evaluation unit evaluates aresolution on the object for each region.
 4. The information processingapparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image quality evaluationunit evaluates a resolution on the object for each pixel.
 5. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the imagequality evaluation unit evaluates a defocus amount for each region inthe image.
 6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2,wherein the image quality evaluation unit evaluates a defocus amount foreach pixel in the image.
 7. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 1, further comprising a feature evaluation unitconfigured to perform feature point evaluation including evaluating apositional distribution of the feature points, and evaluating the numberof feature points, extracted from each of the plurality of images. 8.The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein, forimages, among the plurality of images, where a value indicating a resultof the feature point evaluation by the feature evaluation unit is equalto or larger than a predetermined threshold value, the image qualityevaluation unit evaluates whether the image quality based on thepredetermined index satisfies the allowable conditions for inspectionworks of the object.
 9. The information processing apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein the image quality evaluation unit evaluates an anglebetween light incident to a camera for capturing the images and asurface of the object.
 10. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 9, wherein the image quality evaluation unitevaluates a region in which the angle is equal to or larger than apredetermined threshold value and which includes a pixel where the imagequality evaluation is equal to or larger than a predetermined thresholdvalue, as a region available for inspection of the object.
 11. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 1, furthercomprising: a position and orientation estimation unit configured toestimate a position and an orientation of a camera for capturing theplurality of images; and a shape estimation unit configured to estimatea three-dimensional shape of the object, wherein the position andorientation estimation unit estimates the position and the orientationof the camera based on the feature points extracted by the featureextraction unit, and wherein the shape estimation unit estimates thethree-dimensional shape based on the position and the orientation of thecamera estimated by the position and orientation estimation unit and theplurality of images.
 12. The information processing apparatus accordingto claim 11, wherein, based on the position and the orientation of thecamera estimated by the position and orientation estimation unit, theimage stitching unit projects the plurality of images based on theevaluation by the image quality evaluation unit onto thethree-dimensional shape estimated by the shape estimation unit to stitchthe projected image.
 13. The information processing apparatus accordingto claim 12, further comprising a display unit, wherein the display unitdisplays the image stitched by the image stitching unit.
 14. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 1, furthercomprising: a detection unit configured to detect defects of the objectappearing in the image; and a display unit, wherein the detection unitdetects defects of the object from the plurality of images, and whereinthe display unit displays information about the detected defects. 15.The information processing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein,based on a result of detecting cracks as the defects by the detectionunit and a resolution on the object calculated in the evaluation by theimage quality evaluation unit, the display unit estimates and displaysan estimation error in the width of the cracks.
 16. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising ageneration unit configured to, based on the stitched image, generate aninspection image in which the object is viewed from the front.
 17. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 16, furthercomprising a detection unit configured to detect defects of the objectappearing in the inspection image, wherein the detection unit detectsdefects of the object based on the inspection image.
 18. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the object is aninfrastructure having a concrete wall surface, and the inspection worksare works for identifying defects occurring on the concrete wallsurface.
 19. An information processing method performed by aninformation processing apparatus, the method comprising: extracting, viaa feature extraction unit, feature points from each of a plurality ofimages of an object to be inspected captured from a plurality ofviewpoints; evaluating for each of the plurality of images, via an imagequality evaluation unit, whether an image quality based on apredetermined index satisfies allowable conditions for inspection worksof the object; and stitching, via an image stitching unit, at least apart of the images, among the plurality of images, having the imagequality that satisfies the allowable conditions according to apositional relation based on the feature points extracted in theextraction.
 20. A storage medium storing a program for causing acomputer to function as each unit of the information processingapparatus according to claim 1.